


Heart Issues of the Non-Medical Sort

by synonym4life



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Anal Fingering, Auror Draco Malfoy, Auror Harry Potter, Blow Jobs, Complete, Friends to Lovers, Harry's heart beats for Draco and he's just admitted it to himself, M/M, but really only one finger in the ass lol, features semi-sentient kitchen appliances, finger in the ass, trainee Draco Malfoy, trainee Harry Potter
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-01
Updated: 2017-09-09
Packaged: 2018-11-22 00:41:00
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 15,326
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11368983
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/synonym4life/pseuds/synonym4life
Summary: Harry's heart has been behaving strangely around his fellow Auror Trainee Draco Malfoy and it's time he admitted to himself that his issues are of the non-medical sort. Features a semi-sentient coffee maker and a whole lot of tension.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [silvered_glass](https://archiveofourown.org/users/silvered_glass/gifts).



> This was written for a prompt from the very dear silvered_glass (silveredglass.tumblr.com) to write something inspired by the list of emotions people feel but can't explain. They gave me Rubatosis: The unsettling awareness of your own heartbeat.

Harry was breathing hard. Sweat was running down his forehead and into his eyes making his vision blurry. Despite the exhaustion, his weak legs still managed to jump high in order to avoid yet another hex aimed at them. A second later, another spell, this time aimed at his torso, made him lunge behind a makeshift wooden barrier. He landed on his side, hip and shoulder connecting hard with the mat covered floor. Thank god this was an indoor exercise – the thick mats at least made for smaller bruises.

 

He could feel a hex shake his hiding space. Sure, they weren’t real hexes, but the instructor was clear, ‘’They might be fake now, but they’ll be real on the battlefield, so you better learn to avoid them properly now that you can’t get hurt. Much.’’

 

He also recalled her explicitly telling them not to hide behind barriers for too long, as the point was avoiding hexes, not hiding from them.

 

Harry thought he was avoiding them quite nicely _by_ _hiding_ from them, thank you very much.

 

He ran from behind the barrier as quick as his burning thighs would allow ducking and jumping when necessary as hexes were flung in his direction with such fucking precision he could feel them just barely breeze past him.

 

Of course, he had to have been paired with bloody Malfoy. _Again_. Out of everyone on the team Malfoy’s aim was the best. Harry’s head whipped to take a look at his ‘attacker’. His former nemesis was calmly standing in the middle of the room, legs spread wide for good leverage, with just his arm moving in quick powerful thrusts of the wand. Had Harry had his, he would have hexed the git into the far away wall of the Auror training gym long ago. Alas, he didn’t, so he ducked yet again.

 

The dick wasn’t even trying. As much as he despised him in that moment, he couldn’t help but feel inordinate amounts of admiration for the man. Harry was sure Malfoy kept missing him on purpose just so that he could see him run around directionless like a crazy headless chicken dripping with sweat and taking rasping on-the-verge-to-pass-out breaths.

 

“And we’re done!” Harry heard Auror Wilmot shout.

 

Still, in the middle of his sprint towards another barrier that he had wanted to fling himself behind, he was hit square in the chest with the harmless hex. Bastard. He really could have hit him anytime.

 

Harry collapsed onto the floor, blood pumping so hard he could hear its rush in his ear. He was dizzy and on the verge of throwing up.

 

‘’Try not to die, Potter!’’ Auror Wilmot shouted on her way out. He could hear his fellow trainees, many of them also lying on the floor surrounded by puddles of sweat, snicker. He’d like to see them being paired with Malfoy for this exercise, the tossers.

 

No matter, Harry thought. He’ll get back to him in hand-to-hand combat. This time without mercy.  

 

He’ll kick the shit out of him.

———

 

After taking a warm shower he headed to the trainees' break room. His stomach was starting to growl and he was considering going out to get proper lunch before Theory on Tracking and Disguise began, but first, he needed a strong cuppa.

 

The room was big with clusters of comfortable couches strewn across the floor. Some trainees were there resting – undoubtedly the ones on the same end of the exercise as Harry -  some were playing chess at the small round tables, but many had to have gone out for lunch because more than a half of the team was missing.

 

He went straight to the makeshift kitchenette in the corner where the barely functioning kitchen appliances were located. Malfoy was already standing there making coffee waving his wand irritatedly at the coffee machine. When Harry came closer he could hear him muttering something about the worst combination of muggle technology and magic he had ever come across.

 

‘’Talking to yourself is the first sign of madness,’’ Harry said loudly when he stepped up to the annoyed Malfoy.

 

Malfoy turned his head slightly a startled look in his eyes. He still wasn’t used to the fact that people actually spoke to him in a tone appropriate to be used in public, even though he’d earned quite some respect in everyone’s eyes this past year of training. In Harry’s as well, he acknowledged, as his heart jolted strangely.

 

‘’I’m not talking. I’m complaining.’’ Malfoy’s mouth was a bit tight in the corners, but Harry could see he was mostly faking it; there was humour in his eyes. Harry’s heart gave a strangely cheerful skip as Malfoy’s glinting eyes found his and his taut mouth actually broke into a half-smile.

 

‘’As usual then,’’ Harry replied smiling back. Even after a year, it was still strange to just stand close to Malfoy simply bantering with him. Strangely unnerving, he thought as the rhythm of his heartbeat accelerated ever so slightly.

 

Harry glanced sideways. The blonde’s hair was curling a bit behind his ear, his eyes again intent on the coffee machine that was reluctantly spitting coffee into the cup below - every short burst of the expelled liquid was accompanied by a theatrical groan. The blokes in Misuse really were having way too much fun supplying the Ministry offices with Muggle ‘teknologis’.

 

‘’Morris figured out what’s up with this coffee machine just two days ago.’’

 

Harry reached just past Malfoy to get himself a clean cup from the shelf. As his elbow brushed against the lean arm he swore he could feel his poor heart tremble slightly. This has been happening way too often lately. Maybe he should see the resident Healer later. What if he had some heart issues that didn’t show during regular check-ups? What if his heart just suddenly stopped during a strenuous exercise?

 

A silent clearing of throat came from his left and Harry realised he had been standing completely still pressed against Malfoy’s side holding the ugly Ministry mug in his extended hand while pondering his fate. When he looked up at Malfoy, his fair eyebrows rose in amusement. Harry’s throat clenched and he could feel the muted pounding of blood in his neck.

 

He kept standing there unable to tear his eyes away. Why was his breathing unusually constricted? This was really bizarre. Heart issues _and_ asthma?

 

He shook out of the stupor when Malfoy said a little breathily, ‘’Uh, so.’’

 

Harry half flinched half jumped away to put some distance between them. His cheeks flushed as he fumbled with the tea cup avoiding the light grey eyes.

 

''So.'' Malfoy cleared his throat again. ‘’So -'' his voice had sounded uncharacteristically weak on the first try, ''- Poter. Care to tell me, how to get this machine to work?’’

 

Looking down at the machine Harry noticed that it had long stopped spewing out coffee even though the bottom of the cup was barely covered by the black liquid. Relieved to have something else to think about besides this strange tension that was building up between them – that he was probably guilty of building - he grabbed the opportunity to divert the attention from himself.

 

‘’Oh, nothing special really. You just have to caress it. You know, pet it. Like a cat.’’

 

The incredulous look that was thrown his way made him huff out a snort. Malfoy’s eyebrows were no longer raised in amusement but in disbelief. Harry’s heart jumped against his rib cage nonetheless.

 

‘’I’m not petting a machine. Who the hell let those blokes anywhere near Muggle stuff, anyway?’’ Malfoy said, now looking at the machine with distrust.  ‘’Too many bloody Arthur Weasleys in that department,’’ he muttered under his breath.

 

Harry couldn’t help but laugh. He knew for a fact that it was true. Arthur only hired wizards that were at least half as excited about Muggles as he was. Although many of them were Muggle-born, they compensated by being worrisomely obsessed with combining the best of both worlds. Having a good laugh while they were at it, apparently.

 

Harry reached out a hand and gently caressed the coffee maker. ‘’Just… you know pet it. It won’t bite.’’

 

‘’How on earth can you be so sure?’’

 

He paused, ‘’Uh…good point.’’

 

The coffee, though, was now spilling evenly into the cup and the machine was purring quietly. ‘’Apparently, it makes even better coffee if you praise it a bit.’’

 

Malfoy just looked at him as if he was a bit deranged. Harry wondered how long it’ll take for him to give in and start cooing to the bloody machine – Trainee Malfoy, after all, most certainly loved his coffee more than his pride.

 

The cup was finally full so Harry took it out from under the machine and offered it to the delighted blond. When their fingers brushed, a shiver ran through him and he was once again reminded of the unsettling beating of his blustering heart which was refusing to be ignored.

 

He went about making himself a cup of tea while Malfoy busied himself with stirring inordinate amounts of sugar into his mug. This was…nice, Harry contemplated. Just talking to Malfoy, laughing with him, listening to him complain, just… being next to him. His heart beat with excitement as if waiting for something to happen; as if it was racing ahead right into the wildest ride of its life.

 

Perhaps, it was time to abandon the thought of medical heart issues, he pondered reluctantly. His heart was fine. It just wanted something - someone – Harry had never thought it would want.

 

‘’D’you wanna go grab some lunch?’’ he blurted out.

 

Malfoy looked a bit taken aback by the sudden offer, but he just shrugged and said casually, ‘’Yeah, sure.’’

 

‘’Great!’’ Harry replied his heart giving a joyful lurch as his mouth stretched into a big smile.

 

He’ll still kick the shit out of Malfoy in combat though.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am considering continuing this. Would you be interested in reading more? Tell me what you think!


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some pining, some laughs and some uncertainty.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This took way longer than expected and I am so sorry for such a long wait. Life has just been...well good, but also not inclined to let me write.

 

He and Malfoy had made a habit of lunching together these past two weeks. The hours they spent with each other were still often awkward, full of stilted conversations and avoiding eyes, but in the end, they always managed to make Harry feel light-hearted. He realised it’s been a long time since he laughed so much and so freely in spite of those occasional moments of discomfort in between.

 

His favourite thing to do was introducing Malfoy to the more populated areas of Muggle London. Even though numerous training exercises were carried out in Muggle neighbourhoods all across Britain, Malfoy was still twitchy when they mingled with the city’s non-magical population.

 

At first, Harry wondered if it was due to some residue prejudice, but he soon started noticing Malfoy didn’t look down on Muggles condescendingly. In fact, he was quieter and more cautious around them. Sometimes he jumped at strange sounds or whipped his head a bit too fast while muttering about not bloody knowing there were so many people in England alone, safe London.

 

That’s when Harry realised Malfoy probably felt alien in the Muggle world. All of it was new to him – the blond didn’t look afraid, per say, just extremely unsure of himself. No Theory on Non-Magical Living and Conduct in Non-Wizarding Areas could ever rightfully prepare a pureblood wizard for the busy streets of London. 

 

One time, when they were walking through a small park, Malfoy suddenly grabbed his upper arm and whispered in disbelief, ‘’Merlin’s pants, that woman has a cat on a leash.’’

 

He then proceeded to snicker loudly ‘’Oh my, Potter, look! She put a cat on a leash!’’ His whole body started trembling with uncontrollable laughter and Harry would be lying through his teeth if he said he didn’t enjoy the way Malfoy stood so close, pressed against his side still clutching his arm in a tight grip.

 

‘’Imagine if McGonagall saw this. She would lose it.’’ He half whispered half wheezed into Harry’s ear. With that imagery, Harry too wasn’t able to hold his laughter in anymore. At the time they exited the park both their stomachs were cramping.

 

It felt as if someone had poured a bottle of warm Felix Felicis into his belly.

 

Right now, they were standing in line at Costa because Malfoy still refused to pet the coffee maker in the break room. Harry had had to endure complaints about subpar Muggle coffee for two weeks now. Out of all the coffee chains, Draco complained of Costa the least. Harry will have to take him to an actual coffee shop one day just to show him Muggles were far better coffee brewers than wizards could ever dream to be.

 

Malfoy stood next to him staring at the menu board intently. He liked to consider all the different concoctions on offer even though he always ended up ordering the same thing; ‘some black coffee with just a dash of milk, please’. Pointless to say, the baristas were seldom pleased by this description.

 

As Harry looked at his companion covertly his heart lurched. The man was handsome. Still pointy, yes, often to the point of looking snotty, but there was a softness to his eyes that he had never noticed before. His mouth curled into a smile much more freely now, his brows rarely furrowed anymore and his shoulders had lost the stiffness of their teenage years.

 

Grey eyes flickered to him as Malfoy’s hand carelessly swept the light blond hair back from his forehead. Harry felt his mouth stretch into a stupid toothy grin completely against his will.  

 

He groaned internally. He had it bad.

 

After having empirically confirmed that his misbehaving heart was directly correlational to Malfoy’s presence, he had been pushing this realisation to the back of his mind. Whatever could he do about it? Malfoy showed no signs of feeling the same. Besides, they could barely even be called friends. Lunch buddies, maybe.

 

Harry was still musing about his heart's desires when, out of the blue, the sound of hoarse screaming accompanied by the banging of drums and the screeching of a guitar came blasting from somewhere behind them. Harry flinched at the loudness, but Draco positively jumped whirling around quickly, his hand already going for the wand. Harry grabbed him just in time and squeezed his forearm so hard that Malfoy blanched and turned on him.

 

‘’What the fuck was that?’’ he hissed in Harry’s ear.

 

Harry, who had already recovered from his own bout of shock, was now chuckling slightly. He glanced back at the guy standing behind them; he had his phone against his ear and grinned cheekily at Harry when he noticed him looking. He looked quite pleased with the fact that his ringtone had managed to provoke such a reaction. Harry chuckled harder.

 

Malfoy, who was now looking between them suspiciously, poked him in the ribs with his elbow. ‘’Potter.’’

 

Harry’s eyes settled on the agitated Malfoy again. He had realised in the past few weeks that Draco Malfoy didn’t like waiting for an explanation. He liked the fact that he actually _needed_ an explanation even less.

 

‘’You know how I told you mobile phones have ringtones that announce someone is calling you? That’s what happened here,’’ Harry explained unperturbed by Malfoy’s rising eyebrow.

 

‘’You said ringtones were songs. Music. That was not _music_. That was the sound of someone being flayed alive,’’ he said with derision in his voice.

 

The man behind them snorted. He was enjoying himself immensely listening in to their conversation. Malfoy huffed out an annoyed sound and turned back to inspect the board. He relaxed slightly when he saw it was almost their turn. Trust the prospect of coffee to make him happier.

 

———

 

‘’I can’t just know things, you know,’’ Malfoy ground out while staring out the window unblinkingly, his chicken wrap forgotten in his hand.

 

‘’What things?’’ Harry inquired around a mouthful of his sandwich.

 

‘’Muggle things.’’ His eyes settled back on Harry's, his gaze at once defiant and apologetic. ‘’I’ll never be used to them. This – everything - it will always feel strange.’’ Harry didn’t really know why they were having this conversation because he understood, really.

 

‘’That’s fine, honestly. A lot of things are strange to me too.’’ It was much the same for Ron, except that he was even worse at hiding his surprise than Malfoy.

  

 The pale eyebrows furrowed. ‘’Well yes, I see how it can be strange to you too, but I’m like…a flamingo pretending to be a rhinoceros while you’re more like a hippo pretending to be a rhino. You pass.’’

 

‘’Why do you get to be a beautiful majestic bird and I get to be a deadly water elephant?’’ Harry said half-jokingly, half-seriously.

 

 Malfoy shrugged and leaned back in his chair. ‘’Hippos are cute.’’

 

A cheeky grin spread across Harry’s face, ‘’Aww, are you calling me cute?’’

 

Malfoy smirked right back. ‘’Well, you did call me beautiful _and_ majestic,’’ he said slyly and even had the audacity to wink as Harry choked on a large bite of his sandwich.

 

‘’Anyway,’’ Malfoy continued, his slightly rosy cheeks indicating a not-so-unintentional change of topic, ‘’I just don’t want you to think that –‘’ His eyes flicked to the people on the pavement outside the window. ‘’ – Just because I complain about Muggles a lot, it doesn’t mean that I don’t like them.’’

 

‘’I know that, Malfoy. I understand, really.'' And he _did_ understand. The Muggle world for a pure-blood wizard must feel quite as confusing as the wizarding world for a Muggle born the first time they step into Hogwarts. Harry will never forget the shock he himself got when he saw the paintings move. Sometimes he can still be caught unawares by a moving photo in the Prophet. ''Besides,’’ Harry went on, ‘’you complain about me all the time and you positively _love_ me.’’

 

The blond didn’t reply, but his mouth stretched into a soft smile as he held Harry’s gaze. He couldn’t chase away the thought that he saw a flicker of sadness pass behind the clear grey eyes as the lips curled almost - _wistfully_?

 

The moment was gone as Malfoy stood in a flourish. ‘’We better go, Potter, or we’ll be late for combat.’’ He grumbled, ‘’Oh, no. I hope I don’t get paired with you again. I’m not a fan of bruises that last for weeks on end.’’

 

Harry felt a bit guilty at that. Out of all the trainees, he really did go the hardest on Malfoy, especially after that embarrassing Run And Don’t Get Hit exercise. He never could help his competitive spark, but when he was paired with Malfoy that spark ignited a true fire. He never went as hard on Ron. Although...he thought for a second, his best friend _was_ on leave because of an injury he sustained while fighting Harry, so maybe that wasn’t entirely true.

 

It never felt quite as real as it did with Malfoy though. Malfoy. Draco. He glanced at his companion as they started their brisk walk back to the ministry. Everything felt more real with _Draco_.

 

———

 

Harry didn’t use to be one to show up to training early. If anything, he was barely on time, sometimes a couple of minutes late. That was until he had found out Draco was in the break room a good hour before the training started every day. At first, Harry thought he was naturally an early riser, but upon having seen, a handful of times now, just how grumpy and irritable Malfoy was in the morning, he realised the man just desperately needed a head start to the day in order to break the awful mood before any need to socialise arose.

 

His preferred means to cracking the morning blues was usually coffee. A means that was made hard to access due to the attention-needy coffee maker that Malfoy _still_ refused to pet.

 

Harry, who had come in about ten minutes ago, was now snoozing on the couch. Malfoy had barely had time to greet him; he was preoccupied with trying to glare the coffee machine into submission. Harry was starting to slide into a deep sleep when the sound of agitated tapping came from the kitchenette. He lazily opened his left eye only to see Malfoy furiously pressing the ‘Make Me Coffee’ button to no avail.

 

‘’Just bloody pet it already,’’ Harry grumbled. There was no reaction to his words. Malfoy probably didn’t even hear him over the noise he was making.

 

The tapping stopped and Malfoy straightened. He was now standing stock still, arms crossed and eyes narrowed glaring down at the machine.

 

‘’No.’’

 

Malfoy’s eyes narrowed some more.

 

‘’I said no.’’

 

His mouth tightened.

 

‘’Stop it.’’

 

Harry didn’t know exactly what the coffee maker should stop doing as it was just lying there like any other inanimate object.

 

‘’I shall not yield.’’

 

The blond head lifted mutinously.

 

Harry knew it was only a matter of seconds before Malfoy cracked. Chin up, shoulders square, he kept glancing undecidedly between the empty coffee cup and the rebellious coffee maker. A true battle of wills. Who will win; coffee or ego?

 

‘’Ugh.’’

 

Malfoy’s hands shot up in defeat.

 

‘’FINE!’’

 

‘’Fucking _fine._ ’’ He extended his arm towards the machine, all the while glowering at it, and reluctantly caressed its plastic clad frame.

 

The machine gave a self-satisfied grunt.

 

Malfoy scowled some more. 

 

The black liquid, however, was now indeed gently pouring into the mug.

 

‘’It better fucking be the best coffee, you’ve ever made in your short sorry life,’’ he threatened as the smell of fresh coffee filled the room slowly.

 

Harry smiled softly. A flustered Malfoy was always a welcome sight. He stood there all straight and taut and _strong,_ but the skin at the top of his cheeks had flushed red and a hair kept falling out of place and onto his forehead every time he lowered his gaze to the slowly filling coffee cup.

 

They were still the only ones in the break room, but Harry expected other trainees would soon start to trickle in. When Malfoy’s cup was full, he poured in just the right amount of milk and stirred in more sugar than anyone ever put into _coffee_ of all drinks, then turned around and headed to the couch Harry was lounging on. He plopped himself next to him, _very_ next to him, Harry thought distractedly as their elbows touched and their thighs brushed together. Malfoy put the cup to his mouth and inhaled deeply before taking a sip. When the mug tipped and the taste of coffee finally filled his mouth he moaned. Loudly. Unashamedly. Completely scandalously if Harry had any say in it.

 

Abruptly, it felt as if all his senses centred only in the parts of his body that were pressing against the warmth beside him. There was nothing else about his environment he could feel except the gentle press of thighs, the soft jab of an elbow against his upper arm, the uncomfortable tingling under his skin.

 

Malfoy stopped sipping his coffee and froze as if he too had just realised how intimately close they were. Harry was sure he was staring directly at Malfoy’s wet lips and this was about to become really, really weird real quick if he didn’t do something right away.

 

So, he fake sneezed.

 

Malfoy flinched his hand twitching so hard that he spilt the contents of the mug right onto his lap.

 

‘’For fuck’s sake, Potter! A bit of a warning next time!’’ he exclaimed already grabbing for his wand to spell away the mess.

 

‘’You can’t know when you’ll sneeze in advance,’’ he retorted albeit with a guilty conscience. In his defence, it could hardly be called a pre-meditated action.

 

‘’Anyways,’’ he continued pointing at Malfoy’s now half empty cup, ‘’I see that you capitulated. Does the bitter taste of coffee at least drown out the bitter taste of defeat?’’ The dirty look that was thrown his way made him snort.

 

‘’I didn’t _capitulate._ We – ‘’he threw a wary look at the coffee maker – ‘’just came to an agreement.’’

 

Harry trained his eyes on Malfoy, ‘’Came to an agreement that you will do exactly what the machine wants at the cost of your pride?’’ he deadpanned.

 

Malfoy just huffed in response. ‘’Why don’t you just go back to sleep and let me enjoy my cup? It is…surprisingly good,’’ he grudgingly admitted.

 

Harry was happy to oblige. One could always do with more sleep. He scooted down on the sofa and leaned his head back. If that incidentally meant he also scooted just a bit closer to the man beside him and brought himself flush with the warmth, he couldn’t really be to blame, could he? It was extremely comfy. As he was dozing off on the couch, he could hear the break room slowly fill as their fellow trainees started to file in. He thought he could hear McDougal and - was that Patel? - arguing about the severity of the asphyxiation curse. Nerds. They couldn’t have waited with serious talk till after the course could they.

 

Unexpectedly, Draco tensed beside him. It was the slightest of changes, but Harry could feel the stiffness of the body pressed against him immediately.

 

Before he could even open his eyes, a familiar cheerful voice came from above him, ‘’Been cosying up to Malfoy when I was gone, I see.’’ The thigh pressed against his side moved away almost imperceptibly. Harry still acutely felt the loss of its warmth.

 

‘’Ron!’’ he exclaimed, ’’You’re back already?’’ He stood up and grabbed his best friend into a one armed hug. ‘’You didn’t say anything yesterday at dinner?’’

 

Ron’s lips stretched into a broad smile. ‘’I didn’t know! They told me I’m good to go just now. I had a Healer’s appointment early in the morning. All patched up. They advised me not to train with you anymore though,’’ he chuckled.

 

Harry pulled a face. ‘’Sorry.’’

 

‘’I’m joking. But look, my Healer literally gave me a letter addressed to Auror Wilmot and it just says:’’

 

_Matilda,_

_Please stop breaking your trainees. And if you get a fixed one back (like you are now), please make sure they stay that way for longer than ten days._

_Sincerely,_

_Dorothy_

 

Harry laughed. The feud between their Combat instructor and the Trainees’ Healer was legendary.

 

‘’How much do you bet someone will need patching up today?’’ he said with a smile that faltered slightly when he saw Draco was no longer sitting on the couch but was instead talking to one of the trainees from first year whose name Harry never cared to remember.

 

‘’Hope it won’t be me again. Healer Dorothy would never forgive me,’’ Ron replied still obviously amused.

 

‘’I’m glad you’re back,’’ Harry told him sincerely but his good mood was stumped as his eyes flickered to Malfoy and the only thing he was privy to was a forced smile and avoiding eyes.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No beta. Except for word's spell check and that barely covers the basics.
> 
> I ALSO LOVE COMMENTS <3


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Phew! First of all, sorry for the wait. This chapter just ran its own course, I tell you. It's way longer than intended, but it just refused to be shortened. However, I am really proud of this one, it's my favourite up till now and I hope you will all enjoy reading it as much as I did writing it!
> 
> Second of all, just a warning: I said this was a happy story, and I stand by that, however, there is minor angst and some sad moments in this chapter. But fret not, all will be resolved in no time!

A few minutes before starting their classes, they received the news that the instructor for Disguise or How to Be Seen but Not Recognized had fallen ill and the practical class was now cancelled. Instead of a free period, they were getting three extra hours of Magical Law and How to CORRECTLY Apply It, which amounted to five consecutive hours of this class in a day. Harry was certain they shall be in dire need of a coroner by the end of the lesson since there was no way the trainees would be surviving 5 hours in close quarters with Mr Decree Number 23.

 

There wasn’t a soul in the entire Auror Department who didn’t despise Mr Decree to the deepest pits of Azkaban cells and back. The stuck up watery-eyed man was a member of the Wizengamot appointed to lecture young Auror Trainees on the intricacies of Magical Law with extra emphasis on how to apply it in the field. Needless to say, it was him that added the ‘CORRECTLY’ in uppercase letters to the subject title.

 

Of course, once you knew the backstory the addition actually made a lot of sense. The title was modified after an Auror was reported for twisting a criminal’s nipples when the man refused to be apprehended. The Auror in question argued that he was merely _‘using force in the name of law in order to assure peace’._ Unfortunately, however, he failed to explain _how exactly_ that involved twisting the perpetrator’s nipples.

 

This debacle led to Mr Decree’s infamous twenty-hour lecture on The Law and Its Limitations (Which DO Exist, Mr Blamberton, Yes). A historical event only remembered by the sturdiest of Aurors who managed to survive the twenty-hour hell (With no breaks. No, not even for the loo. You’re wizards, figure it out.)

 

Harry sighed, if those heroes could handle twenty hours, he could handle five. Especially now that his best friend was back. Ever since their glorious Hogwarts days, Ron had never once failed to be an excellent companion in boring classes. Harry was already looking forward to his sterling impersonations of Mr Decree 23 that will surely be performed for him in the back row of the classroom in a few minutes.

 

They had just seated themselves when Harry’s eyes involuntarily strayed in search of the familiar head of blond hair; Malfoy was just pulling out a chair at a table in the second row. On the opposite side of the classroom. Harry’s brow furrowed. What was up with him anyway? Was this reaction solely due to Ron coming back?

 

Sure, when Ron was absent, Draco was never one to actively participate in the mockery of their professors with Harry, but he still sat beside him, turning to him to roll his eyes every time the stuck up Wizengamot prat said something particularly stuck up-ish. Or he would lean over, quill in hand, and correct a spelling mistake on Harry’s notes. He would then throw him a quick smile eyes almost hidden by the white lashes as he glanced up.

 

Now he didn’t even look at him.

 

He’d have to catch him after the lecture to see what got him in a twist.

 

Harry turned his eyes back to Ron who had already assumed the pinched expression of their lecturer and started fussily in a very un-Ron-like manner arranging his writing supplies. He fastidiously lay one pen after the other on the table -

\- until they spelt ‘ASS’.

He grinned broadly at his artwork and Harry had to gulp down an enormously loud snort.

 

God, they were worse than twelve-year-olds when they were together.

 

———

 

After the lecture, Harry and Ron made their way to the break room. He was expecting to see Draco struggling to get his usual fill of caffeine, but there was only Patel standing at the table grumpily arguing with the coffee maker. His fellow Auror trainee was impatiently rubbing the machine at the place where the manufacturing company’s label was. When Harry approached him, he could finally distinguish Patel’s grumbling.

 

‘’Why won’t you give me the bloody coffee! I’m rubbing your favourite spot! Doesn’t it itch anymore?’’ His nails scratched against the label coaxingly. ‘’I bloody told you I loved you more than my _wife_!’’

 

Harry snorted. ‘’Hey, Patel,’’ said Harry frowning at the machine, ‘’Having trouble with it again?’’ Without waiting for the response he continued, ‘’Have you seen Malfoy anywhere?’’

 

Patel threw him a distracted look still concentrated on his empty coffee cup. ‘’Malfoy?’’ his eyes flicked to Harry accusingly. ‘’Yeah, I saw Malfoy all right. He made himself a full cup of deliciously smelling coffee and now this fucking machine won’t even give me a spit of dirty water.’’

 

Harry smirked. He knew Malfoy would win the coffee machine over. And vice versa.

 

‘’Sorry, man. Can’t really help you here.’’ Harry clapped Patel on the shoulder while he continued looking morosely at the empty mug.

 

‘’I know.’’ He sighed in defeat as his shoulders fell. ‘’Malfoy wins everyone to the dark side with his charm.’’

 

Harry couldn’t agree more.

 

———

 

He was half walking half running through the puddles behind the Ministry two paper bags firmly clasped in his hand. It was raining lightly, the smallest of rain drops splattering his glasses every now and then. He walked faster. He would not miss a chance to talk to Draco when he knew they’d be in the break room alone. And Draco wouldn’t be able to avoid him like he had been the whole day yesterday. He had to hurry, he thought as he jumped into the toilet that would transport him to the Atrium. He was already running a bit late. He had needed more time than usual to piece himself together this morning. This night’s nightmare had been particularly horrible. Interspersed with some of the most painful memories it called for a prolonged warm shower.

 

He strode across the Level Four hallway coming short at the far end where the entrance to the break room was. He was quickly realizing hurrying might not have been such a good idea since he was now short of breath and there were beads of sweat collecting on his forehead. He had taken the stairs. The lifts were so bloody slow. He stopped by the door to calm his breathing and quiet the pounding of his heart. Draco was, as usual, standing by the counter bending over the coffee machine. Since his back was turned to Harry, he couldn’t quite tell what Malfoy was doing, but he looked as if he was scratching the coffee maker behind the tube that normally trickled coffee with his index finger.

 

 As Harry took a quiet step further into the room, he could hear Draco muttering something in a low voice.  What was that? Did he just tell the coffee machine it was _gorgeous_? Oh, this was rich. And was that the sound of the coffee maker gently _gurgling_ in approval as the pale index finger continued its affectionate ministrations? Deep down Malfoy was such a softie.

 

Harry smiled fondly.

 

‘’Pouring out your soul to it already? I thought you two still had a feud?’’ Harry inquired amusement colouring his voice.

 

He swore he could hear the machine give an indignant huff at the same moment as a surprised gasp escaped from Malfoy’s throat and he whipped around.

 

‘’Oh,’’ Draco’s forehead wrinkled in surprise, ‘’Potter.’’

 

All of a sudden Harry didn’t know what to do. He had wanted to ask Malfoy why he’d been avoiding him, but saying it out loud somehow seemed ridiculous now. Malfoy didn’t owe him his presence and Harry felt foolish to demand it since they weren’t even - what were they? Were they friends? _‘I don’t know little Harry, you don’t usually wank to the thoughts of your friends in the shower, do you now?’_   his brain oh-so-helpfully supplied. Harry kindly invited it to fuck right off. Instead of just standing there dumbly with nothing to say he thrust out his arm with the paper bags in hand.

 

‘’Breakfast,’’ he said louder than was probably necessary and definitely way dumber than he’d intended.

 

‘’Are you ok, Potter?’’ Malfoy asked tilting his head. ‘’You’re all sweaty,’’ he observed taking one paper bag from Harry’s hand.

 

‘’Uh, yeah. I ran?’’ It was almost a question to himself. He didn’t, in fact, remember if he speed walked or indeed ran.

 

‘’Why on earth did you run?’’ Malfoy sounded a bit distracted. He was already peering into the bag and proceeded to take out a giant blueberry muffin. His favourite, Harry knew.

 

‘’I just...I wanted to catch you before you started running away from me again.’’

 

Draco who was just mid bite had to unleash the muffin from beneath the grip of his teeth to scoff, ‘’I wasn’t _running away_ from you. I was merely removing myself from your presence when I felt it was no longer wanted.’’

 

‘’Or needed,’’ he added after a pause.

 

‘’Who ever told you it wasn’t?’’ Harry said a tad indignant because he had surely never even implied Malfoy should ‘remove himself from his presence’.

 

‘’There was no need to say anything. It was pretty obvious the moment you jumped into Weasley’s lap.’’

 

‘’Well, I’ve missed him!’’ Harry was now properly indignant. Apparently, you weren’t allowed to have more than one friend now.

 

‘’ _Well_.’’ Malfoy’s curt tone gave his words a bitter edge. ‘’ _That_ was kind of the _point_.’’

 

Et voila, the ridiculous conversation Harry had feared was now here.

 

‘’ _Well_ ,’’’ Harry threw his hands in the air and said testily, ‘’ _Now._ I miss _you_!’’

 

It might not have been the most subtle way of saying ‘I’d like you to hang out with me again ( _or do something that involved a little less brain and even less clothe_ \- shut up!) but it sure was honest.

 

‘’I-’’ Malfoy seemed at a loss for words. This clearly wasn’t something he’d expected to hear. ‘’Well. That was blunt.’’

 

‘’I’m not the sharpest tool in the shed,’’ Harry smirked at his own brilliant sense of humour even though Malfoy’s blank stare told him the reference flew over his head. Apparently, he hadn’t yet been informed of the brilliance that was Smash Mouth.

 

‘’Most of the times you’re as sharp as a mallet.’’ Malfoy’s lips were still a thin line, but there was warmth in his eyes now.

 

‘’How do you even know what a mallet is?’’ Harry inquired genuinely impressed.

 

‘’Unlike you, I _am_ a sharp tool in the shed.’’ Draco retorted as his mouth reluctantly stretched into a half smile that, though small, still managed to light up the room. Who would have ever thought Draco Malfoy’s smiles could be this warm? Harry’s stomach gave a happy lurch.

 

‘’Today, after combat, come have lunch with me and Ron?’’ The tension in Harry’s shoulders had eased as soon as he had seen Draco’s face soften.

 

‘’You really think that’s a good idea? Me and Weasley less than five feet apart?’’ A pale eyebrow lifted, Malfoy’s eyes filling with scepticism.

 

‘’My ideas, as stupid as they seem at first, always end up saving the day,’’ Harry said cheekily.

 

Malfoy just gave him the usual _‘sure, Potter’_ look that he’d honed to perfection in these past few weeks and sighed, ‘’I really wish I could contradict that without lying. Alas…’’

 

Harry grinned wider. Today was shaping up to be an excellent day.

 

 ———

 

Sweaty and drained as they usually were after Auor Matilda Wilmot was done with them, Harry, Draco and Ron were sitting on the wooden bench in the locker room, too exhausted to move. It wasn’t until Ron’s stomach gave a rippling growl that they realized they should head out for lunch as soon as possible. They didn’t have a lot of much time before the next class started and Harry didn’t want a repeat of the Grand Grumbling Stomach Disruption that Ron was famous for. He had quite a reputation for being kicked out of class because _‘it sounds like a whale dying Mr Weasley, I can’t lecture like this.’_

 

They dragged themselves out of the Ministry, legs heavy, sweat still dripping from their foreheads despite the cold shower they’d enjoyed. This time it was Malfoy’s stomach that gave a faint roar. As if sensing its comrade’s pain Ron’s equally annoyed food receptacle wasn’t far behind with its own growl.

 

‘’Harry, you know what I like to eat most when my stomach talks like this,’’ Ron said pointing at his abdomen. Harry ignored the fact that Ron referred to the sounds his stomach was making as ‘talking’ as his eyes flickered worriedly to Malfoy. He wasn’t really sure Draco would be too happy with Ron’s ‘plebeian’ choice of venue.

 

‘’Uhh, sure, Ron. Lead the way.’’ He waved his hand in front of him indicating to Ron that they would follow. Malfoy might not be too happy with their choice, but it’s not like a complaining Malfoy would be anything new. In fact, Harry thought, complaining was such a _Draco_ characteristic that if he ever chose to suppress it, Harry would dearly miss it. When they turned onto the busy street Malfoy narrowed his eyes suspiciously as he spotted the big yellow M that Ron was eagerly marching towards.

 

‘’Potter,’’ Malfoy’s lips turned down disapprovingly, ‘’I’ve heard bad things about this place.’’ An unhappy frown was furrowing his otherwise smooth forehead. Harry didn’t know how to answer this; Who hadn’t heard bad things about McDonald's?

 

‘’It’s not that bad. Some things are quite tasty. It might not become your favourite, but I’m sure you’ll like their ice cream at least. It’s really good!’’

 

A disbelieving ‘’Mmhmm’’ was all he received in response as they queued up in front of the till. Harry ended up ordering for Draco because the menu ‘didn’t make any sense, Potter’ and _‘_ why are they asking people for the desired size of their meal _,_ _they_ are the restaurant - if you can call it that - shouldn’t they know the correct sizing?’.

 

So, Harry got himself and Draco a bit of pretty much everything. Two trays filled to the brink just for him and Malfoy. Ron ordered another whole tray and a half for himself. Malfoy was carefully inspecting what the server was putting on their trays. When the girl had put the whole order on it and wished them a pleasant meal, Harry pushed one tray into Malfoy’s hands, grabbed the other one and turned to leave almost crashing into Ron who was standing behind them. He glanced back to see if Malfoy was following and saw him standing there, tray in hand, staring at its contents. He lifted his head; the girl at the till was looking at him curiously.

 

‘’Excuse me Miss, but could we get some cutlery, please?’’ Draco's tone was overly polite and his accent the poshest it could possibly get. Harry supposed it was a habit picked up at formal dinners, the girl working the till supposed Draco was simply a spoilt wanker.

 

Ron barked out a laugh behind them as the girl’s eyebrows shot into her brown fringe and a disapproving ‘I-can’t-believe-you-just-asked-that’ expression flew over her face before her lips settled into a fake smile. She didn’t even respond and only called out, ‘’Next!’’ to the still chuckling Ron as Harry pulled Draco away explaining in a low voice that establishments such as this simply did _not_ use cutlery. Draco responded in a voice that was decidedly _not_ low that he _bloody well knew hamburgers didn’t require cutlery, but there were chicken and potato on this plate too, Potter you idiot._

They got seated and started to devour their many burgers, chicken nuggets and chips in silence. Malfoy was sulking but seemed to be too hungry after the strenuous exercise to refuse food out of sheer stubbornness. Ron joined them with his two plates, a delighted smile on his face. He opened his mouth to say something that would surely just worsen Malfoy's mood further but stopped abruptly when he saw Harry shaking his head signalling to him to cut it off. Since Ron’s observation skills have improved a great deal due to Auror training, he quickly pieced together what was wrong, especially after he was privy to the sullen expression on Draco’s face getting even darker the moment he glanced at the smile on the freckled face. Ron quickly changed his tactics.

 

‘’Malfoy, that was hilarious,’’ his tone was mocking but turned self-deprecating as he continued, ‘’but you can’t compete with me. The first time I was here I asked if I could  get a ceramic plate, and I quote, ‘because my mother always said potato and chicken should never be eaten of off anything else.’ I think it’s a pureblood thing - we’re just very particular about our chicken and potato.’’

 

Harry threw him a thankful look as Malfoy lifted his head already perking up.

 

‘’I can’t believe you actually mentioned your mother,’’ Draco said, his voice thick with poorly disguised gratitude that Harry wasn’t expecting.

 

‘’Oh, that’s not all.’’ Ron was properly grinning now. ‘’About five minutes later I asked the same bloke if -and I quote again- these _wooden needles_ on the hamburgers - toothpicks, I learned later - were edible.’’

 

A deep delightful laugh escaped from Malfoy’s belly and Harry couldn’t help chuckling at the memory himself. He hadn’t been able to keep it together when Ron had asked that. To be frank, his best friend had had to bodily drag him to a booth because Harry had been doubled over with tears of mirth pouring down his face.

 

‘’I’ll never forget the look that bloke gave me,’’ Ron turned his head towards the counter as if looking for him, ‘’He still gives me a pitying smile every time he sees me. I think he thinks I’m missing a few wheels.’’

 

‘’He isn’t too wrong on that one,’’ Draco’s shot back, but his eyes were brimming with laughter. Harry felt a bubble of companionship encircle their table. He couldn’t believe he had just witnessed a Malfoy and a Weasley bond over their shared ineptitude concerning Muggle things.

 

Harry proudly acknowledged that his ideas did, in fact, always end up saving the day.

 

———

 

From that day on the three of them fell into a routine of lunching together. At first, Harry was surprised by how well Ron and Draco got on, but as he listened to them talk he saw they had a lot in common. Poor grasp of the Muggle world aside, there were some things, Harry was learning, all purebloods shared. Among them featured frightening children’s fairy tales, eccentric relatives, overbearing mothers and an innate familiarity with magic that he envied more than he dared admit.

 

Ron and Draco also shared an equally brilliant strategic mind which shone through their discussions on Auror training exercises. These were Harry’s least favourite discussions solely because they usually ended in Ron and Draco berating him for his answers, which were admittedly poorly formulated and usually went something like ‘just wing it’ or ‘Think for like two seconds and then act. You won’t have time to bloody strategize.’ In those moments, he thanked all the gods that Hermione chose a different career path because she would have surely sided with those two and while he could fend off two attackers, the three of them together would be impossible.

 

He was truly enjoying the time the three of them spent together, but he couldn’t shake off the prickling thought that he missed spending time with Malfoy alone. As selfish as it was, he missed his undivided attention. He missed the Malfoy he got to see when they were just the two of them. He missed just being with _Draco_. Therefore, one day when they were about to head home from the Ministry, he caught up with him in the Atrium to ask him to join him for lunch the next day.

 

‘’I’d like to show you this famous muggle coffee shop. Best coffee in town. Ron’s not coming. Ron doesn’t like coffee.’’ As soon as the words were out of his mouth, he realized his heart was beating just that side of normal. What for, though? They’ve hung out by themselves before. It’s not like he was asking Malfoy on a _date_.

 

He saw the blond tilt his head as his pale eyebrow rose and his forehead furrowed like it always did when something wasn’t quite clear to him. ‘’You mean next week?’’

 

‘’What? No, I meant tomorrow. Lunch. Like we used to.’’ It was Harry’s turn to be confused.

 

‘’Tomorrow’s Saturday, Potter. We don’t have training on Saturdays.’’ Malfoy stood there looking all tall and firm and stoic in his _too-bloody-perfectly_ fitting trainee robes. Harry felt even more confused than he did before. Since when was today Friday?

 

‘’Oh,’’ his voice sounded way more breathy than he’d intended. He hated how he could sometimes be stunned into idiocy by Malfoy just bloody _being_ there. ‘’Well, we could still, you know…I’ve been meaning to show you this cafe and…’’ he trailed off waving his arms in an indecisive manner. Good job. Now it really looked like he was asking him on a date.

 

Malfoy suddenly looked quite flustered himself. ‘’Yeah, I guess,’’ his eyes bore into Harry’s again and Harry could feel something between them shift softly. ‘’You said they have the best coffee in town. Let’s see if my animated inanimate object in the break room has some competition.’’ His smile was tentative but held strong.

 

This time the shift between them wasn’t quite as imperceptible. It felt like an earthquake, like two tectonic plates colliding. Harry wondered whether it was a collision that birthed a new world or merely ended up destroying the old one. He then realized that usually went hand in hand.

 

———

 

They met at the Ministry and took a short walk to the cafe. Despite Draco’s protests that good coffee should never be drank in a paper cup Harry ordered them coffee to go, secretly put a Statis charm on the cups, and headed towards his favourite park. It was a small, slightly unkempt park. A few bushes have gone wild and the playground was equipped with only a few creaky swings and a battered see-saw but it was empty and clean and the elder tree behind his favourite bench smelled delicious. They plopped themselves on the bench and Harry handed Draco his much-awaited paper cup. This time it came as no surprise when Draco moaned loudly as his tongue tasted the bittersweet brew. It truly was the best coffee in town.

 

‘’I admit,’’ he said voice full of wonder, ‘’Muggles are excellent coffee brewers. This is the best cup I’ve ever had in my life.’’ He turned an accusing gaze on Harry. ‘’Don’t you dare tell that to the coffee maker in the break room. I barely managed to gain her trust.’’

 

‘’Don’t tell _her_?’’ Harry said amused. ‘’Does _she_ have a name?’’

 

Draco averted his eyes, looking a bit sheepish. ‘’I named her Toffee.’’

 

Harry couldn’t help a laugh escaping him. An embarrassed Auror Trainee Malfoy was not a sight you saw every day and it was, for a lack of better word, adorable.

 

‘’Toffee? Why toff- oh! It’s cause - ’’

 

‘’-  cause it rhymes with coffee, yes…’’ the thin lips mumbled the words almost without moving. The colour that now firmly resided on Draco’s high cheekbones was making Harry heady.

 

‘’That’s... actually incredibly cute,’’ he couldn’t stop himself from saying it, even though he was well aware he sounded like a horrible sap.

 

Malfoy _pffed_ and took another sip. Harry followed suit because if he didn’t occupy himself with something, he was either going to continue babbling, or worse, his hands would stray into uncharted territory and he was still debating with himself if he had the courage to find the answer whether they were wanted or not.

 

In all his attempts to avoid pondering this very issue, his subconsciousness still managed to debate it quite fiercely. Over and over again. With no final conclusion drawn. Harry wasn’t foolish, he knew those looks Draco gave him when he thought he wasn’t looking. He could feel the desire in the accidental touches that lingered a bit too long to be platonic. Malfoy _was_ attracted to him, but attraction didn’t mean he actually _wanted_ Harry.

 

He was pulled from his thoughts when Malfoy pointed at the see-saw on the playground.

 

‘’I still remember when Crabbe, Goyle and I played on the see-saw when we were children. A Magical one, of course.’’ He looked at Harry and saw his confused gaze. ‘’Oh, right, you wouldn’t know. A magical see-saw is the same as a Muggle one except it rises in the air. Problem is, when you’re on a see-saw with someone like Crabbe or Goyle, you get stuck in the air quite easily since you can’t effectively push off with your legs with no ground beneath you. And with the weight imbalance... I can’t tell you how many times we stayed in the air just hanging there with our legs dangling.  House-elves had to keep saving us.’’ He was staring at the playground wistfully. The corners of his lips curled softly. ‘’Good times.’’

 

‘’Not to be a party pooper, but, honestly, can’t relate.’’ Harry could hear the bitterness in his own voice, but he didn’t care. A burning feeling was consuming his stomach. It felt a lot like jealousy and...regret. And yet he couldn’t help, but continue, ‘’See-saw isn’t all that fun when you’re the only one on it pushing with your legs as hard as you can not even achieving one full swing-’’ his throat was suddenly dry as he swallowed heavily, ‘’- all the while wishing for the world to give you at least one friend. Just one.’’

 

Draco had turned to him during his miserable monologue, his eyes full of concern and pity. Harry would have despised him for it had it not been for the fact that he too felt pity towards himself in that moment. Pity for Harry the small boy with no friends and just a tiny bit of pity for Harry the grown-up as well. Draco, eyes full of questions, opened his mouth to ask something but changed his mind and promptly closed it. He tried again, gaped for a bit and shut his lips tightly together. He stood up swiftly.

 

He finally seemed to find the words as he said thickly, ‘’Ok, let’s go.’’ He gestured towards the see-saw, ‘’We’re doing it together now. You can’t have a horrible memory of the see-saw. I won’t allow it.’’

 

‘’I would really rather not.’’ Harry didn’t dare look up at him, lest he fell even deeper into this pit he had dug himself into.

 

‘’I insist.’’ Malfoy now extended his hand and grabbed Harry by the forearm. ‘’Please.’’ His voice was quiet but firm.

 

Harry let himself be dragged onto the playground. The absurdity of the situation soon struck him. Two grown men, Auror Trainees to top it off, were about to sit on the see-saw and swing on it like children.

 

He reluctantly sat on his end while Malfoy got on at the other end. Once seated the blond’s lips stretched into a rare smile that showed his white teeth. Draco pushed off the ground with his feet hard and Harry was lowered to the floor. It was then Harry’s turn to push off, and he soared up, the wind warm against his face while his hair flew in all possible directions. Then it was Malfoy in the air again, but he soon went barreling for the floor as Harry flew up again. In no time they were competing who could push off the ground the hardest. And so they went, back and forth, faster and faster.

 

Harry realized they were grinning like fools, their hair in disarray, their eyes stinging from the wind. He felt exhilarated, the burning feeling in his stomach replaced by a warm tingle that spread all across his body, flew into his limbs and made him feel as if he was flying, as if he was on the magical see-saw from Draco’s childhood.

 

They were swinging recklessly now, pushing off the ground with all their might, slowly losing balance as the sees-aw creaked on. Suddenly, Harry lost his grip and went sprawling to the floor on his way down. The swinging stopped, but he didn’t hear it, he was laughing so hard. Laughing. Carelessly, freely, gasping for air. In no time, Draco was above him laughing right along and offering him his hand to help him stand up.

 

Harry grabbed it gratefully and pulled himself up. In an instant, he was face to face with this beautiful beaming man who made him feel more alive than he’d ever felt. He was still breathless, a silly grin etched on his face when he felt a gentle thumb caress his cheek. He looked up and saw only stormy grey eyes staring down at him intensely. He hadn’t realized Draco was so close.

 

The distance between them lessened further as Draco’s mouth closed in, crashing into his, almost as if by accident. Inelegantly, but, _oh so, perfectly._ The tender touch of the thumb on Harry’s cheek contrasted with the passion of the sweet, eager mouth moving demandingly against his lips. Harry gasped in wonder as his head tilted and he deepened the kiss. There were hands tangled in his hair, pulling him further in but there were strands of soft hair beneath his own fingers too desperately clutching Draco closer until they were flush against each other, chest against chest, the only sound between them their sharp inhales of air.

 

He couldn’t believe this was happening. This is what freedom felt like. This is what true happiness felt like. Perhaps this was even what lov -

 

Abruptly, the body against him was gone, the lips drew away, the hands slipped from his hair to his shoulders and held him at a distance. Harry opened his eyes and was confronted with Draco’s tormented gaze. He tried to step closer, opening his mouth to say something, anything before the fear had the chance to settle in Draco’s eyes, but he was stopped, held at a distance as Malfoy tried to regain his composure.

 

‘’No -’’ Draco croaked out as the hands left Harry’s shoulders and he retreated further back, ‘’- no, we can’t. This...’’ he saw Draco gulp heavily, ‘’ - we’ll ruin everything.’’

 

Harry tried to step forward, tried to say something but his head was blank, he didn’t understand. What was going on, what did Malfoy mean _ruin everything_?

 

‘’No. Please.’’ Draco waved down Harry’s mute attempts to stop him. He was already turning away, his eyes looking everywhere else but at Harry. ‘’Just think about it. Just...think. You’ll soon see it too. This would ruin _everything_.’’ Just like that Malfoy turned and walked away.

 

Harry was left wondering what ruins he was talking of. There would have been none had Malfoy not turned everything to shambles before anything even had a chance to grow between them.

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'd love to know what you thought of this chapter! Your comments are literally the thing that keeps me going (however slowly that might be).


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The last chapter is here!!! It took a long time again, so I sincerely thank each and every one who's still with me for this story. I hope it put at least half as many smiles on your faces as it did to me. I thoroughly enjoyed writing it, so thank you all for giving it a chance. <3
> 
> Warning! This is where the story turns EXPLICIT! If you aren't comfortable with that make sure you skip the third scene (or at least the smutty part of it).

Every Sunday, Hermione, Ron, and Harry spent the day together at 12 Grimmauld Place. Although Ron and he saw each other every day in Auror training, Harry dearly missed Hermione’s company whose schedule was so hectic that he rarely ever saw her during the week. She sometimes popped into Level Four to greet them, but hurried out just as quickly, mumbling about how the Department for Control of Magical Creatures was again impinging on some creature’s rights and she had come settle the issue.

 

Hermione was an activist for Non-Human Magical Being’s rights. In the past two years, she had become both a constant thorn in the Ministry’s side as well as an indispensable asset to the Ministry’s legislative body who was still dealing with the post-war reform.

 

So, Sundays had become their Golden days, named in mockery of the nickname The Prophet had given them - The Golden Trio.

 

Usually, Ron and Hermione came to Grimmauld in the morning. They all made breakfast together before either settling in for a lazy day or heading out to do something fun. When it was nice outside they often went on short educational trips (organized by Hermione, of course), sometimes he and Ron went flying and even Hermione joined them from time to time. On rainy days they spend the time reading books, playing chess or watching the telly. Harry had convinced the house to accept the Muggle device after a lot of subtle spell work and a couple of fights with Walburga’s portrait.

 

After the disastrous kiss he had shared with Draco yesterday, Harry wasn’t really feeling up to socializing. He just wanted to sulk inside and not think about tomorrow when he would have to see Draco again. See him and know he was unwanted. He just wanted to lie on his couch pitying himself until the dawn of a new morning broke. Alas, Ron and Hermione were already here helping him with breakfast, frying eggs, cutting fruit, making tea…

 

Harry was really proud of himself for concealing his horrible mood so well; Hermione hadn’t noticed anything yet.

 

They sat down at the long kitchen table, mountains of food before them, and dug in.  Harry often wondered if they were trying to recreate Hogwarts meals with their abundant breakfasts. Those times, after all, made for good memories and it felt nice to remember the good, happy days, especially since their nights were still often plagued by memories of the war.

 

Harry didn’t really feel like eating, yet he still loaded his plate with eggs and sausages and unenthusiastically stuffed his mouth. Best not show his bad mood.

 

‘’So, what’s up with the foul mood?’’ Hermione asked offhandedly as she poured herself a cup of tea. _Ugh._ Of course, she had noticed, Harry thought annoyed. Either that, or she was a mind reader. Before he managed to open his mouth to retort, Ron chimed in.

 

‘’He’s pining.’’

 

‘’Pining?’’ Hermione’s intonation betrayed her interest as she fought her eyebrows from rising.

 

‘’Yeah,’’ Ron continued forgetting the piece of sausage on the half-raised fork. His eyes gleamed mischievously. ‘’Pining for _Malfoy_.’’ Hermione’s eyebrows shot up without restraint now.

 

‘’How do you-’’ Harry spluttered, ‘’I’m not _pining_ for Malfoy!’’ How did Ron even know? He couldn’t have seen them kiss. Could it be that he had noticed something? Ron was horribly unobservant of all things concerning emotions, so Harry highly doubted that.

 

‘’You are.’’ Ron nodded, serious. ‘’Pining for Malfoy like a caged parrot pining for the fields.’’

 

Harry scowled. Was he that obvious? ‘’How could you possibly even know what pining looks like?’’

 

Hermione’s brown eyes bore into him. Her hair seemed to have frizzed up further as if perking up with interest. She kept quiet though. For now. Ron, however, looked delighted at Harry’s question. Apparently, he had been waiting exactly for that. Sneaky bastard, Harry muttered under his breath. Ron beamed.

 

‘’Well for one, I return to training from my horrible injury -’’

 

‘’Wasn’t that horrible,’’ Harry mumbled in protest.

 

‘’And Harry’s all chummy with Malfoy all of a sudden. I find them on the couch practically _snuggling_ into each other.’’

 

‘’See, I think the injury wasn’t horrible enough at all. I’ll try to do better next week,’’ Harry spoke up louder this time. Hermione’s lips quirked up in a smile, eyes fleeting from Ron to Harry and back again. She was always amused by their banter - she called it endearingly childish.

 

Her eyes glinted. ‘’Pray tell more, Ron. I think you’re onto something here.’’ This time her full lips stretched into a grin. Harry hated his horrible friends.

 

Ron happily obliged his wife’s request and barged on with his monologue. ‘’Then, Harry can’t take his eyes off Malfoy’s arse during stretching after combat .’’

 

Harry felt indignant for all of three seconds. But then he remembered how Draco’s ass looked in those tight black jogging bottoms as he stepped into a lunge to stretch his hamstrings and only managed to feel embarrassed. Ron was probably right. Malfoy’s behind looked sinfully delicious and Harry yearned to squeeze the tight perky muscles. Preferably as their dicks rubbed together in the meantime.

 

Great. Now he was blushing.

 

‘’And, Hermione, when I say he couldn’t take his eyes off him, I mean he kept ogling him for full twenty minutes. Not that Malfoy was any better, mind. I think they were both hard by the end of the lesson.’’

 

Harry flushed furiously, opening his mouth to contradict him and promptly closed it as Ron’s piercing blue gaze matched Hermione’s _‘don’t even try to lie to us, Harry’_ look. It was the same look they used to give him during the war every time Harry had told them that his scar hadn’t been hurting, _honestly_. His stomach squeezed as if doused with frozen water. He shouldn’t hide this from them. They deserved better.

 

‘’And then - Hermione, you won’t believe it - Harry gives Malfoy his whole Mcflurry Oreo and Caramel Ice Cream when we go to McDonald's.’’

 

Hermione gasped. ‘’You didn’t!’’ Why on earth she looked so shocked was beyond Harry. It was just a bloody ice cream.

 

‘’His _whole_ ice cream, Hermione.’’

 

‘’So fucking what if I gave him my ice cream.’’ Harry really didn’t understand what the big deal was.

 

‘’Harry,’’ Hermione’s eyes went soft now, ‘’you rarely share your food with anyone.’’ He hated that he could see poorly disguised pity in her eyes. ‘’I mean, you do share with me and Ron, but…the last time Seamus tried to take one spoonful of your ice cream you snatched it from his hands and barked at him to get his own.’’

 

Her smile was sad but knowing. He was sure this was more of that psychoanalysis bullshit she took to researching lately. She must have added this _food thing_ on the list of behavioural issues caused by the Dursleys. Sometimes he hated her for not telling him all the things she’d noticed. Sometimes he thought it was for the best. Hermione wasn’t done yet, though. She hesitated for a second but bravely barged on.

 

‘’You really only share your food with the people you truly _love_.’’

 

This struck Harry hard. He _had_ thought that he and Malfoy- he had hoped- never truly believed, no. But hoped he did. And yet apparently he was ruining _everything_.

 

He swallowed thickly. ‘’Well, then you’ll be pleased to know that we kissed yesterday.’’ Ron’s mouth fell open as Hermione let out a delighted ‘oh’. Before they could look thoroughly pleased with themselves (or him, it hardly mattered) he went on, ‘’And then he ran off telling me this would ruin everything. He left me there wondering what _everything_ even fucking meant.’’ He crossed his arms feeling defensive all of a sudden.

 

‘’And _he_ kissed me first,’’ he added sullenly.

 

 From the corner of his eyes, he saw Hermione worry her lip as Ron’s eyebrows furrowed.

 

‘’That doesn’t make any sense!’’ Ron sounded almost personally offended. Gratitude overwhelmed Harry. Ron will always be on his side. ‘’Honestly, Harry! Malfoy seemed just as interested. He too was ogling your arse at every opportunity.’’

 

Harry smiled at Ron gratefully but turned to Hermione to see what she had to say. While he knew Ron would always be there to offer support, he needed Hermione for advice and guidance. She stopped worrying her lip, seemed to think for a few seconds more, and then decided it was best to muse aloud.

 

‘’Hmm…so, Malfoy would definitely be one to be worried about the Auror Department’s policy which declares there should be no dating between anyone in the department. I mean, it _is_ an extremely dated policy, which literally no one pays any attention to whatsoever…As far as I know, two senior Aurors are married and they still remain partners. Even a few of your fellow trainees are dating.’’

 

Harry nodded. For a fact, he thought that Marina and Alaya, first-year Auror trainees, were a couple. Or about to be if the fondling he had witnessed was any indication to the state of the matter. He also knew that Alexandra and Federico from their year were dating. Although he would never understand how these two got together; a most unlikely pair, they were.

 

‘’But _still,_ ’’ Hermione continued, ‘’Since Malfoy has a less than favourable past, he could be worried that they’ll try to find any excuse to get rid of him. After all, he bet everything he has and everything he _is_ on this career.’’

 

Well, Harry had never thought of that.

 

Hermione wasn’t done yet. ‘’He could also be worried about the public’s response. You know how they still drag him through the papers...’’

 

Harry didn’t, in fact, know that.

 

‘’What the papers would say if you two started dating…probably nothing nice. Either he Imperiused you to be with him or he only ever got into Auror Training because he was warming the Chosen One’s bed.’’

 

Things were looking bleaker with every word Hermione spoke. She was right, though. Harry could ruin Draco’s future reputation as an Auror merely by dating him. Everything Draco ever did would be overshadowed by Harry’s hero status. Everything. Twisted around, overlooked, cast aside, forgotten.

 

‘’Or,’’ Hermione’s voice was quiet this time, ‘’he could just be scared.’’

 

Harry’s eyes snapped to her earnest ones. He saw Ron nod thoughtfully beside her, but all he could think about was the fear in Draco’s eyes when he pushed Harry away.

 

‘’Scared for all that could be taken away from him, yes, but most of all, scared for his heart. He lost everything, Harry. I think he even lost himself for a while. If things don’t work out between you two…he’s got to be _frightened_ to lose it all, all over again.’’ She went quiet now looking at him earnestly.

 

Ron coughed to reclaim their attention asking in a strong sure voice, ‘’How much do you want him, Harry?’’

 

Harry didn’t know how to answer this. A few weeks ago he hadn’t even known he wanted Draco. Now, he was slowly realizing he had probably wanted him for a really long time. He just hadn’t noticed. But, God, he wanted him so much. No matter where they were or what they did he wanted to be there, by Draco’s side, as their lives went on, as the time passed. He ached for it.

 

‘’I-’’ he felt his chest constrict as the image of Draco’s soft half-smile fleeted through his mind. ‘’A lot. I- I want him _a lot_.’’

 

Could he grant Malfoy the happy ending he deserved? He didn’t think anyone could ever promise that to anyone. But maybe he could make Draco see that it was foolish not to even try.

 

‘’Well, then you have to show him you are worth being brave for,’’ Ron said wisely. Apparently, his emotional range had surpassed that of a teaspoon in the last few years and now came to encompass the infinitely more respectable range of a ladle. Hermione looked completely flustered with pride as she took his hand and squeezed it.

 

‘’But _how_?’’ Harry asked in turn.

 

Hermione reached across the table and took Harry’s hand in her free one as well.

 

‘’I think talking to him will do.’’ She squeezed Harry’s hand too. Just as lovingly as she did Ron’s. Harry squeezed back and smiled at them fondly.

 

The Golden Trio. Maybe The Prophet was right for once.

 

 

 

———

 

 

This time Harry was in the break room before Draco. He sat on what he had now come to consider _their couch._ He couldn’t stop fidgeting. What was he going to say? He was never one for speeches. No matter how much he practised the words he prepared beforehand what came out of his mouth in the end was always different. He hoped honesty will be on his side today.

 

When Draco came in, his shoulders were stiff. He looked like he hadn’t slept much. Upon sighting Harry he only sighed in acceptance. He was expecting him to be there. Harry rose from his seat wiping his sweaty palms on the front of his jeans.

 

‘’Are you worried about the no dating policy?’’ Okay, so, he could have started this conversation more tactfully, but babbling was still better than gaping senselessly.

 

‘’They could sack me, you know.’’ Draco seemed tired. He looked like instead of sleeping he had spent the night having this exact argument with himself. Repeatedly. The circles under his eyes were a testament to that.

 

‘’They wouldn’t dare,’’ Harry spoke softly, but with conviction. ‘’Hermione told me two senior Aurors are actually married. And they were allowed to stay Auror partners too. Besides, you know as well as I do, that Alex and Federico are dating and they are trainees as well. No one ever said anything to them.’’

 

Harry knew the policy wasn’t the real issue here, but he needed Draco to know that he won’t lose his job, won’t lose his future because of Harry. Not only because Harry won’t allow it, no one would. Anyone who ever dated anyone in Level Four would stand behind him. Draco might think that everyone still hated him, but Harry knew better - he was well skilled and their instructors respected that. And the trainees came to like him. He made them laugh with his scathing remarks and he helped everyone with subjects he was good at.

 

‘’That’s all nice and well, but I’m not like everyone els- wait- Abnormally Attractive Alexandra and Fugly Federico are dating?’’ The sudden change of Draco’s tone tore an unexpected laugh from Harry’s belly.

 

‘’Yes, they really are.’’ He himself had been surprised the first time he heard of it.

 

‘’Who would have thought? Truly an unlikely pair,’’ Draco muttered still in awe of Federico’s apparent prowess at seducing fair ladies.

 

‘’We could be an unlikely pair as well,’’ Harry interrupted his musing. ‘’Unlikely pairs can be strong. Strong enough not to ruin _everything_.’’ Harry’s voice was quiet, but not pleading. He would not plead. Draco was smart enough to know what he wanted, smart enough to decide what was good for him. Harry had a feeling the decision had already been made.

 

The grey eyes kept fleeting from Harry’s to somewhere behind his shoulder. ‘’It could ruin a lot of things though. And a lot more if it doesn’t work out.’’

 

‘’I can’t promise you it’ll work out. No one can promise you that. But I think you know deep down that it would be a waste not to even try.’’ Harry’s mouth was dry but he barged on earnestly. ‘’What we have…it could turn into something great, something-’’he took a shallow breath’’- for forever.’’

 

Draco’s eyes shot to his in an instant. There was fear in them, yes, but there was hope too, hope and bravery.

 

‘’I rarely ever put my heart on the line, Potter.’’ The raw honesty in Draco’s voice made Harry's heart clench. The pale throat moved as it swallowed. ‘’The last time I did, I lost.’’

 

From the shadows that chased around the pale eyes, Harry figured out exactly what Draco meant. The way the fingers of the arm bearing the Dark Mark flexed nervously only confirmed it. Draco Malfoy had put his heart on the line for his family. Not for Voldemort, not for the cause, but for his family. With Lucius wasting away in Azkaban and Narcissa abroad, his family was torn apart and broken. However wrong and twisted his methods, Draco Malfoy loved his family, put his heart into saving them and _lost_.

 

And here he was saying he’d be putting his heart on the line with Harry as well. And that could only mean - it could only mean - Harry couldn’t even grasp the thought, it was so big - expanding, consuming his chest in something warm, something golden, something so big that it was frightening while, at the same time, being exhilarating, pure, liberating.

 

Harry tried to take a deep breath but it faltered and the words came rushing out thick, stuttering.

 

‘’With me…you’d be putting your heart on the line _for_ me?’’

 

Draco’s eyes never strayed from his. It felt like they were closer somehow even though they hadn’t moved. Draco’s face was unmoving but his eyes were open for once, the walls around his soul bared.

 

‘’I think I already have, Harry.’’ The stiff shoulders loosened with the truth. A tentative smile tugged at his lips.

 

‘’Yeah.’’ Harry felt the golden bubble in his chest expand further. ‘’Yeah. Me too.’’

 

 

———

 

 

The sky outside the Ministry’s many fake windows was already darkening when they stepped into the locker room exhausted once more. They had decided to get some extra weight training in today, but it was nearing 7 p.m. so Draco, Ron and Harry called it quits in the Auror gym. They wanted to take a quick shower before heading home, but as soon as they threw their towels and water bottles on the bench, Ron’s hand went to his pocket and he drew out a gleaming Galleon.

 

‘’Oh, shit. Hermione wrote _dinner in 10._ We’re having takeaway today anyway, which means she’s just ordered.’’ He made a trademark ‘whoops’ face as he opened his locker and a pile of clothes fell out. He stuffed the towel and water bottle into his sports bag along with his Auror trainee uniform. ‘’I better go. I’ll shower home. She won’t be able to say anything. I’ll be there ‘in 10’ after all.’’ His cheeky grin reminded Harry a lot of the twins. Ron rushed out before they could do any more than wave at his retreating back.

 

Draco opened his locker too. Nothing fell out of his; the uniform was nicely folded on top of his bag, the polished shoes neatly tucked into the small bottom shelf. He took off his sweat-soaked T-shirt and Harry followed suit otherwise he would have just kept staring at the sensual curve of Draco’s taut strong arse hugged my those damned clingy black joggers.

 

When he finished pulling off his own T-shirt his eyes were again drawn to Draco’s naked muscled back. Harry immediately felt hot all over. The half-darkness enveloped the room intimately, the feeble evening light coming from the window giving Draco’s pale skin an irresistible glow. Harry couldn’t tear his eyes away. The atmosphere changed, became thicker somehow. Draco felt it too; he half turned towards Harry looking straight into his eyes. Harry knew his face was an open book displaying the hunger, the desire he felt without restraint. Desire for the man he’d wanted for longer than he could remember, the man he was finally dating.

 

He stepped closer. He was still a good few feet apart from the glistening chest but he swore he could almost feel Draco’s pulse quicken in tandem with his own. Harry breached the distance between them. Not touching. Just standing there in front of Draco wishing nothing more than to capture his lips between his own.

 

‘’I suppose, I’m allowed to kiss you now that we’re dating?’’ he whispered.

 

Draco physically drew back forehead furrowing. ‘’We’re not _dating_.’’ There was disgust in his voice.

 

Harry’s heart fell.

 

‘’What? Didn’t we agr- what _are_ we doing then?’’ Harry responded with his own frown.

 

‘’I don’t know… Just not _dating_. We’re not using that word. We’re just…just hanging out. But emotionally.’’

 

Harry opened his mouth gaping like a fish for a few seconds. The ludicrousness of the words hit him and he snorted right in Draco's face.

 

‘’Hanging out. But emotionally.’’ He deadpanned. Only Draco Malfoy could come up with something as ridiculous as that. Harry thought he should probably be glad that Draco hadn’t insisted they call it _courting_. ‘’Haven’t we been hanging out emotionally all this time?’’

 

‘’Well, yes. But now we’d be _overtly_ hanging out emotionally.’’ Malfoy spoke in a tone that suggested Harry was the idiot. What on earth was wrong with the word dating? Probably just some obscure never before heard fact that _Malfoys didn’t date._

_‘’_ Overtly. Hanging out. Emotionally.’’ Harry shook his head at the sheer ridiculousness of it. ‘’Can I overtly and emotionally kiss you then?’’

 

He reached out hooking two fingers in the elastic band of those sinfully clingy jogging bottoms and tugged Draco closer until their foreheads were touching. Draco tilted his head a little and leaned forwards brushing his lips against Harry’s.

 

‘’Yeah.’ He breathed into Harry’s half-open mouth. ‘’You can kiss me. Extremely overtly. And- and highly emotionally.’’

 

His warm breath ghosted against Harry’s lips making his cock stir. Harry closed the distance between them and kissed him hard. Finally, finally, there won’t be any more pushing away, finally, he had the man he wanted, and quite probably _loved,_ in his arms. He smiled into the demanding mouth as his hand entwined in soft blond hair. When Draco’s back hit the metal door, Harry’s teeth were already on the taut pale neck that was taking shallow gulps of air. The Adam’s apple beneath his lips moved.

 

‘’Fuck. _Harry_. We can’t- not here,’’ he rasped out. Harry’s lips settled on Draco’s again. Their tongues slid against each other, plunging surely into the other’s mouth until Draco reluctantly pulled his lips away from Harry’s. There was so much lust in those stormy grey eyes that Harry’s heart skipped a beat. Desire thrummed in his veins, louder than it had ever been before.

 

‘’If you don’t stop, Potter, _I’m_ not going to be able to stop either.’’ Draco was hot, hot everywhere that Harry was touching him, his chest, his shoulders, his neck, his mouth, but Harry was hot too, hot and unable to stop. Unwilling to stop.

 

In answer, Harry’s hand slid from Draco’s scarred chest down his stomach, over the thin line of dark blond hair that led to a rapidly swelling cock still caged by the fabric. He squeezed it gently rubbing the head with his thumb. Draco’s breath caught but his hand slid from where it was tangled in Harry’s hair and took hold of his jaw, the thumb pulling at Harry’s bottom lip slightly baring his teeth. Harry continued palming Draco’s cock, as the pale cheek slid against his own, stubble skidding against stubble until that delicious mouth was ghosting rapid warm breaths over Harry’s ear.

 

Slowly the mouth opened and Draco murmured in a voice that sent shivers down Harry’s spine. ‘’We might not be stopping, but it won’t be I who’ll be, ah - what does the youth say these days-spunking all over myself in the locker room.’’ His words were silky, dangerous. ‘’It’ll be _you_.’’

 

Harry didn't even realize what was happening until he was promptly turned around and it was suddenly his back that was getting slammed into the lockers. The metal clanged, the sound echoing faintly across the room. Harry looked up, his eyes at once settling on Draco’s devious smile. Good grief. If he was hard before, this show of power and cunning made his cock absolutely strain as it filled out even more.

 

The hand that was not busy gripping his hip was still clutching at his jaw. Soft teasing lips placed a fleeting kiss at the corner of his mouth before his head was tilted back, his jaw pulled down, lips drawn apart. The lean body was against his again, skin brushing against skin. Draco trailed his mouth along Harry’s jaw nibbling, licking, taunting as his fingers leisurely pushed into Harry’s moist wanton mouth.

 

Harry accepted them eagerly, curled his tongue around them and sucked drawing them farther in. Draco shivered all over and Harry would swear he felt his knees buckle.

 

‘’Merlin,’’ Draco breathed against Harry’s neck, just under his ear. It was Harry’s turn to shiver.

 

With a final bite to his tender skin, Draco lazily started lowering himself. Down, down, down he went, excruciatingly slowly, never once taking his eyes off Harry’s until he was kneeling between his trembling legs. _Fuck._ Harry thought he could come at the sight alone. Both Draco’s hands were now securely placed on his hipbones. He leaned in, in, _in_ , right towards where Harry’s cock was bulging in his joggers and breathed a wet warm breath through the thin grey fabric. Harry’s fists clenched as his hips thrust forward.

 

‘’Please.’’ He wanted more, needed more, more, more, more of that gorgeous hot _mean_ mouth. But those evil lips just continued mouthing along his length, teeth softly nibbling here and there, scalding hot breaths making his hips restless.

 

He was already in pieces when Draco finally dragged down his bottoms, pants and all, and Harry’s cock sprang free, thick and pink and leaking. Grey eyes staring unblinkingly into green Draco lowered his mouth towards the head of Harry’s prick, his hands all the while keeping a firm hold on Harry’s hips. Wet heat swallowed the head and ripped a whimper out of Harry’s throat. Draco’s tongue slid into the slit, only fleetingly, before wrapping around the head again, twirling as he sucked softly. Harry’s hips would have been thrusting by now had they not been so thoroughly restrained. He pushed his hands into Draco’s hair, pleading for more.

 

Without warning, or perhaps the wicked look in Draco’s eyes _was_ the warning, his whole length was swallowed, taken in, impossibly far in, and when his eyes regained their focus Draco’s mouth was flush with his groin. Draco’s throat trembled a bit and a choking sound escaped him. Harry’s head hit the metal behind him with a resonating clunk and he moaned loudly, his body on fire and the image of Draco with his cock down his throat imprinted on his eyelids.

 

The tight mouth set to work, sliding up and down his shaft, tongue flicking, swirling, head bobbing, swallowing him whole every now and then. Draco shifted pinning him to the lockers with the forearm of his left arm as his right set down to trail past his curls, towards his balls.  He fondled them briefly, then let the fingers trail further back. Harry’s legs fell apart, letting him in. Draco pressed onto Harry’s perineum accompanying the action by taking him down his throat again holding him there as he rubbed at the sensitive skin. Harry thought he would come right then and there, but the mouth loosened its hold, slid back up, and wrapped gently around the head of Harry’s cock again. The finger between his legs travelled towards his hole brushing against it softly.

 

Harry’s groin caught fire and his balls drew further in. He knew exactly what he wanted then. The finger kept brushing, prodding lightly. Dry. Harry tried to push back on it, he needed it inside him, it was only one finger, he could take one dry. Draco moved it away slightly.

 

‘’No,’’Harry groaned in frustration, ‘’please.’’ He gasped. ‘’ _In_.’’

 

Draco, finally catching on, tried to pull his mouth off Harry’s cock and started to draw back the hand between Harry’s legs presumably to at least lube up his finger with some spit. Harry firmed his grip in Draco’s hair pushing him back onto his shaft shaking his head in a ‘no’ motion.

 

‘’No.’’ Why was his voice so raspy? _‘’Dry.’’_ He was so far gone he was barely managing one syllable words.

 

Draco’s eyes widened as understanding dawned on him, but then he blinked and the surprise was gone, chased away by a wicked glint. The tongue swirled again, and he made a show of fluttering his eyelids shut, pale lashes resting delicately against his cheeks. And then he moaned. Moaned around Harry’s prick as if it was the best thing he had ever tasted. Harry’s knees buckled and he would have slid to the floor if it weren’t for the hand holding him up.

 

Draco’s finger was back at Harry’s opening, his mouth moving anew, continuously letting out those obscene sounds that transformed Harry into a helpless puddle. The finger was pushing, teasing the rim, as the mouth around the cock hollowed and Draco sucked hard. The finger breached Harry, pushing past his anus filling him. Everything happened so fast, Harry felt a faint sting as Draco buried the finger in till the last knuckle, and then his cock was swallowed to the root again and Harry was overwhelmed by such intense pleasure that tears welled in his eyes as his orgasm was pulled out of him brutally. He heard himself sob, sob from the sheer intensity of the bliss as he spilt himself down Draco’s willing throat losing all sense of where he was as his body gave out completely and he came and came and _came._

When he regained his sense of self, Harry realized he was slumped against the lockers behind him his weight mainly supported by Draco’s strong arms and his even stronger grip. He was now standing, hovering above Harry a ghost of a smile on his lips as he continued to hold him upright. Harry gave a breathless laugh and pushed his palms flat against the cold metal behind himself to right himself up.

 

‘’That was…’’ he cleared his throat, ‘’wow.’’

 

 He laughed nervously his shoulders shaking a bit, but he truly had no words to describe how utterly wonderful it was. Draco just smiled a bit more, a tentative smugness tugging at the corners of his lips before they were on Harry’s once more. This time the kiss was slow, sensual, deep. Harry could taste himself on the smooth tongue. When the kiss ended they just stood there, breathless, their foreheads pressed together.

 

‘’Can I at least call you my boyfriend from now on?’’ Harry asked amused.

 

‘’Not a chance in hell.’’

 

Harry huffed out a laugh. He’ll just call him baby next time. See how he liked that.

 

 

———

 

 

The next morning Harry found Draco already sitting on their couch in the break room with a deliciously smelling coffee in hand. Harry didn’t particularly like coffee himself, but the smell of a fresh brew always lifted his spirits. It was a homely, comfortable smell, and as of recently, he started associating it with Draco too. And thinking of Draco reminded him of that warm light feeling in his belly that never failed to put a smile on his face. He plonked himself down next to his _not-boyfriend_ , careful not to jostle him, lest he spill his precious morning elixir of life.

 

‘’Where’s my boo?’’ Harry asked cheerfully leaning bodily into the warmth beside him. Draco froze, his face a stony mask.

 

‘’What did you call me just now?’’ Draco’s tone was measured, yet still managed to sound clipped.

 

‘’My boo,’’ Harry said as cheesily as he possibly could. He felt the corners of his eyes crinkle as his already large smile widened. Oh, this was fun.

 

 Draco’s mouth was a thin line as he stared him down with a murderous glare. There was an internal battle going on inside his head while he kept glowering at Harry. His lips tightened further before he spoke.

 

‘’Fine.’’ Draco ground out. ‘’ _Boyfriend_.’’ He looked pained as he went on. ‘’Fine. That will be the term. You’ll be my _boyfriend_. A complete insufferable fool of a boyfriend.’’ His lips turned down in annoyance. ‘’Happy now?’’

 

‘’Extremely.’’ Harry leaned in and kissed the down-turned mouth. Draco’s irritation evaporated the more he melted into the kiss. He tasted like coffee, like _home_.

 

Out of nowhere, a voice boomed above their heads, ‘’Oh, thank fucking Merlin! Finally!’’

 

They drew apart looking up at the burly body of Fugly Federico. He was a huge, almost Hagrid-sized man, with a relatively small head perched on his thick neck. His face bore an unbelievable resemblance to the Neanderthal. His brows were thick and drawn together and when he spoke it sounded almost as if the voice was coming from the bottom of a well.

 

‘’Circe’s tits, finally! The whole bloody department was suffering from all this unresolved sexual tension.’’ The man rarely ever talked, so this sudden verbosity came as a great surprise. ‘’Thank fuck! Everyone, look, they are finally dating!’’ He pointed a thick finger at them. Harry hadn’t noticed before, but when he looked around now, he saw many of their fellow trainees were already in the room. They indeed looked visibly relieved at this revelation.

 

Harry cleared his throat. ‘’We’re not actually dating, though.’’ When Federico scowled, he continued, ‘’We’re just… _overtly_ \- ‘’ Harry was starting to shake from poorly contained laughter ‘’-hanging out _emotionally_.’’

 

Tears welled up in his eyes as chuckles overwhelmed him. He didn’t see the thick eyebrows rise as they pulled together further, but he did feel the sharp sting of the pain when Draco punched his shoulder hard. Harry laughed out loud now, tears of mirth spilling from his cheeks.

 

‘’Shut up, Potter,’’ Draco muttered under his breath, but there was amusement colouring his voice.

 

It felt wonderful to be _overtly hanging out emotionally_ with Draco, Harry thought, but it felt even better to be in love with him.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You have left me so many lovely comments throughout the chapters and they truly kept me going (especially through my writer's block), so THANK YOU for each and every kudos and comment. You are all wonderful! <3
> 
> Oh, also if you caught that Monty Python reference I love you :)

**Author's Note:**

> I feel like it was unclear before (because I still suck at using AO3 and I am endlessly confused about these End Notes), but this story, for me, is complete. The 4th chapter was the last and I don't really have any plans on continuing this fic. However, if the muse strikes me and I get an idea, who knows, maybe a sequel some day? But first onto some other writing projects!


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